Paddle Sports Festival
My kids (13 and 16) and I went to a wonderful Paddle Sports Festival in Freeport, Maine over the weekend. My 16 year old has his own kayak, but my 13 year old and I have little experience. We drove up to Freeport, caught the LL Bean shuttle to the area on the coast where they had quite a few kayaks set up for people to try out. I tried two different kayaks out – a sit on top style. It was easy to paddle, but I felt a bit ‘tippy’. I switched to a longer (12′) style that I could sit down in. With this style, I felt more secure, and paddled around the cove for about an hour. I absolutely loved it, and enjoyed watching the kids paddling around too.
Mariah getting ready to take off
Tandem Kayaks
After enjoying being out on the water, we went and had some burgers at the cookout and then caught the shuttle back to the main store. I was amazed at all the different kayaks and canoes. I knew there were three main types of kayaks – white water, flat water and sea kayaks. I had no idea that within each type, were many varieties. Before I purchase a kayak, I’ll have to do a lot more research. I’m open to hearing from others what they like/recommend.
We also spent some time looking at the accessories, and camping and hiking gear. That’s always a lot of fun! I met and talked to a man who is a teacher at a near by school that was demonstrating different types of stoves, and another man who was explaining GPS devices. Loads of fun all day!
A Rainbow of Kayaks
